Moppets Visit the Bureau
by colakirk
Summary: The Moppets series continues with Little Neal and his big brother Moz spending the morning at Daddy's Office. Father/Son Warning: Contains Spanking - Don't Like, Please Don't Read
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This first chapter may be familiar to some readers as it was pasted at the end of the original Moppets fic, many moons ago. I finally got around to picking up where it left off thinking the Moppets needed to get themselves into a whole lot more mischief after being in trouble for something they didn't do!

**WARNING**: This fic contains spanking of a child. If that is of a concern, please don't read.

**Moppets Visit the Bureau**

Agent Peter Burke slid his house key into the lock of his Brooklyn townhouse and opened the outer front door. He smiled to himself while thinking how good it was to be home. He missed his family while at work and it took him a fair effort to stay focused on the white collar cases rather than thinking about what everyone was getting up to without him during the day. He stepped inside the inner door and placed his briefcase on the ground. The house was quiet, way too quiet! And by the way, where were his welcome home hugs? El was in the kitchen, he could tell from the clanging of the saucepan lids and from the distinct aroma of slow cooked beef casserole waffling through. Perhaps the boys were off having their shower. El had this thing about them coming to the dinner table all clean and germ free. Peter thought it was bordering on pedantic but he let it be and didn't interfere. The agent stepped into the living area and, being the seasoned FBI investigator that he was, immediately noticed something amiss. Two dining chairs, oddly placed, facing two separate corners, each holding one moppet a piece. Peter hadn't seen this configuration before but he guessed it must be some type of 'naughty chair' set up. He looked over at Mozzie. The boy was sitting on the chair, his legs up and folded on the seat, elbows resting on his thighs like he was in some type of meditation pose. "Hello Mozzie."

"Hi Peter." The nine year old didn't turn around or move from his contemplative position.

Peter turned to the other corner. The littlest moppet was kneeling on the floor, his arms resting on the seat of the chair. He peered up at Peter through the gap in frame at the back of the dining chair. "Hello Neal." A short time passed but no reply. Peter waited a moment before trying again. "Hello Neal."

"I not awoud to peak."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Oh, fair enough." Continuing on through to the kitchen, he thought he'd better get the lowdown from the boss first, before any further investigating took place.

"Hi honey, how was your day?" El greeted her husband.

"Very satisfying. We finally made significant progress on the Watershed Case this afternoon. Should be able to make an arrest by the end of the week at the latest. And tell me El, how was your afternoon? When I called you at lunch, all was quiet. No injuries, no illness, no serious infractions so I'm guessing the crime took place sometime in the last couple of hours?"

"About an hour ago."

"I see. So who, what and HOW!" The last word was shouted by the agent as an extremely strange little creature came padding into the kitchen. "What the?" Peter was trying not to shout. "That's not…"

"Satchmo?" El nodded confirming all Peter's fears. His poor little puppy had been turned into some designer art project.

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe, but Satchmo's not fluorescent green and candy pink, plus, the last time I looked he had hair on his legs."

"I wasn't sure if you'd notice." El gave Peter a cheeky grin. "Poor pup's had a bit of a makeover courtesy of one of our little moppets."

"A bit! He couldn't look any more different if he'd morphed into a mountain goat!"

El chuckled, "You don't think that's a slight exaggeration, hon? Plus, Satchmo doesn't seem to care. I think he fancies all the attention he's been getting since the transformation."

"Perhaps if we showed him what he looked like in the mirror he might care." The puppy was licking Peter's shoes, oblivious of the fact that the conversation from above was centered on his appearance. "So which one of the delinquents did the dirty deed, as if I couldn't guess already?"

"Well, neither of the boys have owned up to it yet?"

"Really?" Peter raised his eyebrows as he swiped a finger across the lemon meringue pudding set aside for desert. "Hence the 'naughty chairs'?"

"Yeah. I told them they could stay there until either I finished cooking the dinner or you arrived home from work. Whichever came first. And since I'm still cooking the veggies, the file for their latest criminal exploit has landed squarely on your desk, Agent Burke." Elizabeth winked at her husband. "Lucky you!"

"El, it wouldn't be the case that you deliberately delayed mashing the potatoes so you could pass up on having to handle the investigation… would it?"

"Oh please, nothing so sinister. I just had the steamer on too low by accident. Must have bumped the dial when I removed it from the cupboard earlier."

"Of course." Peter didn't buy it for a second. "So how long till dinner?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Well I guess I better go and deal with the architect of this particular offense."

"Good luck."

"Like I need it," Peter shot over his shoulder as he pushed open the kitchen door.

"Right! Front and center!" Peter snapped his fingers and the two little mischief makers sprang from their naughty chairs and placed themselves before the agent. He took a moment to study the expressions on the youthful little faces before him. One bored and offended, the other, guilty as all hell. "So boys, which one of you decided our poor little puppy needed a cut and color?" There was no response to his enquiry, only squirming and sighing. "Okay, let's try this, I'm going to ask the question one more time and then I'm going to count backwards from three. When I get to zero there are going to be some serious consequences for refusing to answer. Understand?"

Both boys nodded but remained silent.

"Perfect, now, which of you painted Satchmo and cut the hair on his legs?" Peter paused before he began the count. "Three."

Neal looked unhappily over at his older friend before gazing up at Peter with hurt puppy dog eyes. Peter crossed his arms and frowned at the littlest moppet. "Two."

Mozzie put his hands into his pockets and dropped his gaze to the floor. He was better off if he didn't have to look in Peter's direction. It wasn't a great stretch of the imagination to consider what 'serious consequences' meant. He glanced across at the kid, squirming and sweating beside him. Unreal. He sure had a lot to learn about withstanding the pressures of an interrogation!

"One."

"Fine!" Mozzie sighed deeply and looked Peter in the eye. "Whatever. I did it okay. I thought the pup was in need of a change of style. Why be boring? Variety is the spice of life right?"

Peter pressed his lips together, not at all impressed with Mozzie's confession, stepping forward to land a very hard swat to the boy's backside.

"Yeowww!" Mozzie yelped as he reached back to rub at his butt.

Peter pointed a stern finger at the older boy's face. "That was for lying to me." Peter then stepped over to Neal and planted an equally solid smack to his little butt. The youngster cried out and also rubbed at the sting. "And that," Peter pointed, "was for letting him! Mozzie?"

"Yes sir?"

"Go and see if your mother needs a hand in the kitchen please."

"Yes sir."

"And Mozzie, while you are there I want you to write out rule number seven, twenty times."

"Twenty?" Mozzie groaned and was about to argue the sentence when he thought better of it. "Twenty? Sure, no problem." The nine year old trotted off to the kitchen leaving Agent Burke to deal with the pint-sized perp.

Peter took the little boy's arm and led him over to the couch. He sat down and put Neal on his lap. "Now little one, you ready to tell me what happened."

Neal shrugged.

"You know you are not making this any easier for yourself, kiddo."

"But I don't want to get in twouble." Neal fiddled with the buttons on Peter's shirt.

"Well perhaps you should have considered that before you shaved off puppy's leg hair and painted him in fluoro green."

"I wanted to see what he would wook wike."

"Did you know you would get in trouble for doing that to Satchmo?"

"Ah, my not sure."

"Okay then, let me put it this way, if I had been sitting in the room with you would you still have done it?"

"Noooo."

"Why not?"

"Cause you would hab said it was naughty and got cwanky with me."

"That's right. So you did know it was wrong?"

Neal's little face dropped and his bottom lip quivered. Yep, he knew it was wrong all right.

"Neal, why didn't you own up when El asked you earlier?"

"Cause she would hab macked my bottom and it would hab herwt."

"Yeah, but now you're still in trouble and to make it worse, you were happy to just stand back and let Mozzie take the blame. I'm very disappointed in you young man."

Neal's face dropped and the tears that had been threatening came pouring out in a deluge. "I sowwy. I didna mean to get Moz in twoble."

"Hey kiddo. I know you didn't but by not telling the truth, that's exactly what happened. Mozzie was prepared to take the blame for something you did. Did Mozzie have any part in you painting or cutting Satchmo's hair?"

"Noooo. He wab weading his book." The little boy sniffled while rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

"I see. So your best friend, who was innocently reading a book while you were into mischief is made to sit in a chair and face the corner because you won't own up when El asks which one of you made a mess of Satchmo?"

"I widn't mean too," the youngster babbled into his hands.

"Well young man, I think you know that you did the wrong thing by decorating Satchmo." Peter paused, now for the hard part. "You know what I have to do now Neal?"

Through the tears, the youngster pleaded, "No pwease. I won't pwaint Satchie again eber. I don't want a panking."

Neal's protest landed on deaf ears as he was lifted up and over Peter's knee. The little boy continued to cry out as several swats were landed over the top of his pajama bottoms. The whacks weren't particularly hard, just enough to reinforce the message Peter had already discussed with the little boy. "When you've done something wrong, own up." Whack. "Good friends don't get their buddies in trouble." Whack. "No more decorating the dog." Whack.

Peter lifted the weeping child up into his arms and cuddled him against his chest. "Okay kiddo, I believe you owe a couple of apologies."

Neal wiped his eyes and nose on Peter's shirt. The agent rolled his eyes. How many times had the moppet done that to one of his work shirts? "I sowwy dadda."

Peter smiled. "I didn't mean me little one. Your mommy and brother are the ones who need an apology." He lifted Neal down off his lap and pushed him gently in the direction of the kitchen but the little chap spun back and tilted his head in thought.

"I pwabably should pologize to Satchie too?"

"Good idea buddy." The agent chuckled and wondered how the hell he was going to turn the art project back into the family pet!


	2. Chapter 2

Peter poured himself his second mug of coffee for the morning, feeling like he really needed something a hell of a lot stronger than a standard cup of caffeine to see him through the day. He'd stayed up late, preparing for his first ever inter-district departmental heads counterfeit presentation, for which he had the distinct pleasure of being nominated chairperson. In other words, he was in charge of the conference program as well as being responsible for making sure everyone was heard within the limited time they'd allocated. It was important that the small gathering of senior officials from Philly and Washington ran smoothly, particularly with being the new kid on the senior agent block, all eyes would be scrutinizing his every move. He'd stayed up late making sure all the file folders for the presentation were in order, all his notes were fool proof and everything else had every 't' crossed and every 'i' dotted.

Sipping his coffee the seasoned agent felt confident, as prepared as he could be. In fact, he had a little bit of time up his sleeve so when he saw the family 'pet' scoot into the kitchen looking possibly even worse than the night before, he made an on the spot decision to take him out back and wash some of the color out of his hair before it stained permanently or possibly before the neighbors caught sight of him over the fence and reported the Burkes for animal cruelty. Peter downed the last mouthful of his 'not even close to what he needed' coffee, scooped up Satch and headed outside.

Ten minutes and half of bottle of shampoo later, the poor puppy didn't look any better, in actuality, it was possible he looked worse off than he did before Peter began to wash him. It may have been that the warm soapy liquid dispersed the permanent fluorescent green and pink ink over more of Satchmo's body. Peter huffed in frustration thinking how he was going to confiscate every drawing implement in the house as soon as he got home from work. Of course he knew he would never do that but the mere thought helped him work through the dissatisfaction of wasting his time when there were so many other things that needed attention. With a final sigh, he released the puppy into the yard and wandered back to the house. As he opened the door, El was walking towards him, looking way too dressed up for someone intending on spend the morning baking cookies and moping bathroom tiles. "El? You going somewhere?"

El laughed, "No Peter, I thought I'd doll myself up to cook you an omelet before I took the boys to the park." She smiled, waiting for her husband to catch up with her sarcasm.

Peter frowned, trying frantically to remember something he knew he was supposed to. "Uh, you going out hon?"

"Yes, you goose." El swatted him playfully across his shoulder. "I have that meeting this morning remember? You know the one I've been trying to organize for months?"

Peter's only response was to stare blankly at his wife.

El gave in and recalled the full story. "Peter, last week, I was finally able to arrange a meeting with the Performing Arts of Brooklyn Centre manager. You know my dream client that's going to rocket Burke Premier Events from a barely hanging in there backyard business to a reputable thriving company."

"Ahhhh… of course." Peter had heard the spiel. In fact he knew all about it. El had been so excited to even just secure an interview with the manager. What he had no recollection of was the date of the interview…. "So that meeting's this morning?"

"Yes Peter, remember, I told you last week because it meant you'd have to take the morning off work to watch the boys. You said it wouldn't be a problem." El looked at her watch. "Anyway hon, I have to kiss and run." El pecked Peter on the cheek. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck hon. Don't worry about a thing. You'll do just find, you won't need any luck," _I'm going to need it all for myself!_

Peter felt a sinking sensation wash over his body as he watched in disbelief, his wife grabbing her bag and heading out the front door. Stepping into the dining area with a sensation swirling in his head that was a cross between a drug induced trance and a full blown anxiety attack, he made a bee line for his computer, loaded up Google and frantically typed in "Babysitters!"

M-O-P-P-E-T-S

Who had he been kidding? Organizing a babysitter at such short notice wasn't like ringing up and ordering a pizza - what had he been thinking, really! Truthfully, he had thought it would be as simple as placing a call, but boy was that a huge misconception! From the half dozen phone calls he'd made within the past fifteen minutes, he'd come up empty handed. Some of the agencies were fully booked, some required forms to be filled out and faxed in before they would even entertain the idea of sending a sitter over and a couple of the independent sitters that were available, didn't sound particularly professional. Not that he should be worried with Mozzie lurking around. The boy wouldn't tolerate inappropriate behavior from a guest in the house and all hell would rain down on the unsuspecting sitter if she were to treat Neal in any way that Mozzie deemed inappropriate. Plus, the kid would watch over the house like a hawk with an unknown and unvetted individual roaming the halls. But despite all that, El wouldn't be happy; all told she'd be positively furious that Peter would even consider leaving the children with a total stranger!

Ditching the babysitter idea while cursing Rachel Hammond, the one person who could have come to his rescue, for choosing this particular week to take a well-deserved break cruising the Bahamas, Peter bolted up the stairs to shake two sleeping moppets from their slumber.

""Mozzie, Neal, wake up!" Peter gently shook each boy in turn and when that didn't work, took a step into the 'heartless but desperate' department and pulled back their blankets, allowing the warm air to escape and the cool morning frost to seep into their cozy cocoons.

"Peeeeeter," Mozzie whined while reaching for his glasses. "What the h..." He was about to say hell but stopped himself at the last second while remembering that a painful swat across his backside would surely follow that particular word if it were to escape his mouth - and that wouldn't be a particularly pleasant way to start the day! He tried again as he put his feet on the floor and stretched his arms, "What's going on, Peter?"

"I have to take you boys in to work with me this morning," Peter spoke as he lifted Neal into a sitting position and began to undress the youngster. "I'm going to jump in the shower. While I'm getting ready, I want you two to get dressed and pack a couple of toys and books that will keep you entertained for a few hours, into your school backpacks."

"Dadda, I hungwy. Cam oo make me a chocwate miwk wake?" Neal had begun to rouse, catching on quickly to what was happening.

"We'll get breakfast on the way, okay fellas?" Peter started to panic thinking that having two little boys along for the ride was going to slow up his schedule. He'd have to leave earlier than anticipated if he was going to feed the boys and settle them in his office before setting up the presentation.

It was his quickest shower on record - the 'watch every drop' water conservationists would have been proud! Pulling on his suit, he ran a comb through his hair and brushed his teeth in record time. Fighting the anxiety building throughout his body, Peter yelled out to Mozzie and Neal to meet him downstairs as he headed into the kitchen to grab a couple of snack bars, knowing he wouldn't get a chance to take the boys out for a morning snack – a couple of processed fruit bars would have to be a sorry alternative.

Taking one final look around the kitchen and accepting that anything else the boys desperately needed could surely be scrounged up at the office; Peter grabbed a rather large box that possessed all the file folders and notes for his presentation, off the dining table and made for the front door.

"Mozzie! Neal! Let's Go! I'm waiting!" Peter shouted up the stairs but got no response. Feeling his blood pressure rising, he was about to shout again when he felt a tug on his pants. He looked down rather awkwardly over the side of the box into the eyes of his youngest child, "Neal, where's your brother?"

"Moz aweady in da cawr, dadda."

"Oh…Okay." Peter took a deep breath. "You got everything you need bud?"

"Yeah dadda." The little boy patted his backpack.

"Okay, let's go." The agent hurried down the stairs with his littlest moppet trailing behind. He shoved the bulky packaging box onto the front passenger seat and glanced back quickly to check that the boys were secured in their seatbelts before jumping into the driver's seat and pulling out into the peak hour traffic. Had he stopped a moment to take a little more notice of what the boys had brought along to 'keep themselves entertained,' his day would have most certainly turned out for the better. Later that night when he would hop into bed, his wife would remind him of the age old saying that a stitch in time saves nine. It would have been good advice, had it not been several hours too late because Agent Peter Burke was about to watch his day unravel at the seams, stitch by stitch by stich!


	3. Chapter 3

Peter adjusted the frightfully heavy box on his hip as he pressed the button to call the elevator down to the basement level car park. Soon after, a collection of bureau personnel began to gather behind him as they also awaited the arrival of the lift. Peter didn't have a free hand to secure his young charges so he went for the next best option, "Mozzie, take Neal's hand please, I don't want him wandering off on the wrong floor."

"Yes sir."

"Would you like help with that box sir?" A junior agent from Peter's division must have realised the older man was struggling with his load.

"No, thank you anyway Harper, but it's not that heavy, just awkward." Truthfully, Peter felt like his hands might just fall off but he summoned all his strength and composure to at least give the appearance to the younger agent that he had the situation well under control.

"Isn't he cute?" Peter heard a couple of the younger female office staff chatting behind him. He assumed they were referring to Neal.

"If you say so, but cute in a comical kind of way," the friend replied in a snotty fashion.

_Well that's rather offensive,_ Peter considered, making a mental note to scratch whoever she was off his Christmas card list.

The elevator arrived, finally, and the small crowd crammed into the confined space.

"Mozzie?"

"Yes sir?"

"You still got Neal's hand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good."

Peter was ever so grateful when the indicator above the door lit up on the number twenty-one. It had been one of the longest trips ever, stopping at every floor – well not every floor but it certainly seemed that way! "Mozzie, you still got Neal?" Peter looked over the top of the box and even though he could see the top of the youngster's head, he felt more reassured by a confirmation.

"Yes sir." Mozzie was certainly being on his best behavior, perhaps he shouldn't be too concerned, This whole crazy situation may work out okay after all.

"Wow Dadda, I fowgot how gweat youw werwk was!" Neal looked around as they followed their dad up to his office.

Peter considered it had been a while since the boys last visit to the Bureau. He'd brought them back here after picking them up for stealing El's purse and collecting them from the little hole in the wall they called home. The events of that particular day seemed like a lifetime ago now.

"So this is where you hang out everyday, Peter? We didn't see that much of it on our last visit."

_Probably too freaked,_ Peter speculated. "Yep, this is where your old man slaves away at the grind stone day in day out to…"

"Good morning Agent Burke," a sweet young intern interrupted Peter at the bottom of the stairs. "Would you like me to bring you up a cup of coffee? I've just turned on the jug."

"Uh, yeah, why not. Thank you Goldberg." Peter didn't need to see his oldest boy's face to know he'd be rolling his eyes.

"You know Peter it's reassuring to learn that an honest days pay is still a viable option for those tireless working minions willing to put in the hard yards."

It was Peter's turn to roll his eyes as he led his little entourage into his office and dumped the heavy packaging box on the side table. Shaking feeling back into his hands he turned to address his boys. Boys?...Neal?...Mozzie?..."_Oh you've got to be kidding me!"_

Peter stormed out to the balcony overlooking the bullpen and was unable to spot anyone under four feet tall. He resisted the urge to bellow out their names but wasn't past mounting a serious manhunt when he spotted Neal through the glass in the conference room next door. "Neal!"

The little boy jumped when he heard his name shouted in _that_ particular tone. He quickly returned the lazer pointer to its case and rushed back to his father. "Yes Dadda?" He smiled up at the older man with big bright innocent blue eyes.

Peter shook his head, trying not to be swayed. "I told you in the car on the way here, you are to stay in my office, no where else and look, we haven't been here more than two minutes and you're already wandering off."

"I wadent wanering off Dadda, I wa wa'ing forw oo in youw office wike you towld me too." Neal pointed back in the direction of the conference room.

_Oh_, "No bud, that's not my office, my office is in here…" Peter pointed back through the glass and momentarily startled at the boy on the other side waving back. "Right in here… where your brother is waiting." Peter tightened his lips as he took Neal by the hand and escorted him back into the correct room. He suspected Mozzie had been up to something but time was of the essence and he'd have to just let it slide. He stood Neal beside the older boy and pointed his finger firmly. "Okay you two, listen up. Daddy's got an important meeting this morning in that room next door. I have a number of things I need to set up before my guests arrive so I want you both to keep yourselves busy with the gear you brought in your backpacks. I'll be in and out to check on you but if you want anything at all, you'll just have to wait till I get back. You are not to leave this room under any circumstances, am I clear?"

"Crystal clear sir."

"Yeah Dadda."

Peter nodded thinking the situation was under control, or as good as it was ever going to be.

As their father stepped out of the room, Neal turned to his older brother. "Wherws did oo put him?"

"Next door, there's any empty room with just a desk and chair, looks like it hardly ever gets used. But I will need a box for him. Can't have him sleeping in my backpack all day."

"Wha bout diss box Moz?" Neal tapped the large packaging box Peter had lumped all the way from home.

"Perfect, my young padawan." Mozzie pushed his glasses further up his nose as he processed a brilliant plan. "I'll also need the water bottle out of your backpack."

Ten minutes later as Peter stepped back into his office, his eyes almost popped out of his head and he gasped for air to fill his lungs as he took stock of the dishevelled state of his office and more to the point, his entire box of presentation materials spread across the floor. When he could finally find his voice, he used it for all its worth, "WHAT HAPPENED!"

Mozzie stepped forward using a placating gesture with his hands. "Nothing to worry about Peter. Everything is under control."

"All evidence to the contrary young man! What happened!" Peter didn't even know where to begin.

"Look, it's okay. Neal had a little accident with his water bottle. He had trouble getting the lid off and when he finally did…Whooosh!" Mozzie re-enacted with the scene with his arms, demonstrating the motion of water spraying in all directions. "We saved your stuff, got it out of the box as quickly as we could before the water seeped through. It looks like all your paper work has managed to dodge a bullet."

"Mmmm.." Peter examined the files spread across the floor, Mozzie was correct -they all appeared undamaged by the water, despite the fact that the previously ordered pile was now a jumbled mess. "Yeah, okay. Thanks for handling that so professionally Mozzie, it could have a been a disaster." Peter made an effort to look and sound pleased with the young child even though he still felt like ripping his hair out in frustration. "Where'd you put the box?" Peter looked around the room but couldn't see any remnants of soggy cardboard.

"Oh, we tossed that out into the corridor and someone must have walked by and kindly removed it." Mozzie glared at his younger brother, willing him not to step in and contradict his story.

"Okay…Look I'll just take these files next door and come back to sort something out for you boys." Peter packed up his paper work and notes – the notes he'd be needing in less than…he checked his watch…in less than twenty minutes! He finally conceded he may need some help to watch over his trouble prone youngsters. The agent dashed out of the room accepting that he would have to conscript an unsuspecting intern and as luck would have it, he had the perfect individual in mind.

Neal turned to his brother as soon as they were alone. "Oo jus towld a heap of wies to Dadda."

"Hmmm," Mozzie searched his brain, "Not a heap young one, just one or two little ones. But it was totally necessary to cover our tracks."

"Bu we not upposed to tewl wies, it says so on da wules on da fwidge."

Mozzie shook his head at the naivety of the child. "Oh to be young again! Listen kiddo, sometimes you need to tell a little lie to avoid a whole lot of trouble and if no harm is done then it's not an issue."

"No harwm Moz? When Dadda fwinds out you been wying, therw be wots of harwm to your butt!

"And that's why he'd not going to find out kid. Get with the program and run next door and check on Satch. I'll cover you butt if Peter arrives back before you."

When Peter returned, not more than a handful of seconds after his youngest scampered back into the room, he wasn't alone. The young woman that had offered him a coffee when they'd first arrived accompanied him. "Boys, I'd like you to meet Agent Angela Goldberg."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am." Mozzie held out his hand and smiled sweetly knowing it was always in his best interest to have the hired help on his side.

"Nice you meet you…"

"Mozzie," Peter interjected, "and this is my younger son Neal."

"Hello Neal." Agent Goldberg addressed the little moppet who edged his way further behind his older brother.

Peter sighed, "Neal?"

"Yeah Dadda?"

"Say hello to Agent Goldberg please."

"H'wo."

"Hey Neal." The young woman crouched down beside the youngster and straightened his bow-tie. "I like what you're wearing. I think you look very smart with your trendy hat and tie. And who's this?" Angela indicated the little companion tucked under Neal's arm.

"His name's…"

"Mozzie," Peter interrupted, "give your brother a chance to speak for himself please."

The boy huffed and went back to fiddling with something at the table that Peter had designated for use by the boys.

"I bet he has a cool name." Angela tried again.

"Sunny." Neal finally responded. "It is a coowl name."

"Sure is Neal. I'm looking forward to spending the morning with you and Mozzie and Sunny."

"Great," Peter checked his watch, yet again. "Thank you so much, Gol…Angela." He should probably call her by her first name if he was having her sit with his children for a couple of hours.

"No problem Agent Burke. Good luck with your meeting." Angela could see the first arrivals coming through the outer office door.

"Thanks and please, come and get you if you need me."

"Won't be necessary," she replied with great confidence. Now, not only was Angela a graduate of Qantico but she was top of her class in Predicting the Unforeseen. Clearly, she should have known better!


	4. Chapter 4

"Agent Burke." Peter startled upon hearing the whispered, somewhat frantic voice of Agent Goldberg in his ear. Excusing himself from the group gathered around the table, he turned to face the young woman, almost certain that it wouldn't be good news. Raising his eyebrows indicating she now had his undivided attention. "Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt Agent Burke, but I seem to um.. I seem to have lost the boys."

Not good news indeed! Peter's eyebrows rose even higher in his hair line as he tried desperately to school his features before turning back to the suits, bending their ears trying to listen in, curious as to what could be so important as to warrant an interruption. "Ah, please excuse me for a minute ladies and gentlemen, I have an urgent matter to attend to. Agent Jones here," Peter indicated his offsider with a nod of his head, "will continue on with the powerpoint presentation." With a quick nod to Jones, Peter placed his hand on the small of Agent Goldberg's back and guided her out into the hall. Once out of range he asked quietly, "Angela?"

"I'm sorry Agent Burke but I can't find the boys."

Peter took a deep breath, the young woman was clearly very upset and yelling at her wouldn't get anyone anywhere. "Angela, where was the last place you saw them. Obviously at some point they escaped from my office?"

"No, not really. The didn't escape, I escorted them."

_Really?_ Peter wasn't overly impressed with that little admission. He'd been quite clear with his direction of, 'don't let the boys leave the room under any circumstance.' "You escorted them?"

"A-Ah the little one asked if he could go to the bathroom so I escorted him to the men's bathroom. We were almost there when Mozzie appeared from nowhere and said he needed to go too. So I waited outside but when they didn't come out after about five minutes I began to become a bit concerned so I found one of the male agents and asked him to have a look but he came back out and said the men's bathroom was empty and that's when I came and got you, Agent Burke." Angela blurted it all out and only took a breath once her complete side of the story was out in the open.

Peter nodded and began marching towards the hall and down to the men's room. He stood outside and turned to the young woman. "Wait here a second."

Of course Angela was going to wait outside! What did the older man expect her to do, follow him in there? Peter returned a moment later and gave her the two finger point from the door. Apparently he did expect her to follow him in! Already feeling like she was in enough trouble, the young woman walked through the doors of the men's room wondering if every day was going to be as unusual as this one was turning out to be!

Angle tried not to look at the men's urinals, although out of the corner of her eye they didn't appear to be as grotty or smelly as she would have expected. The room was empty - she guessed that would have been why Agent Burke initially had her wait outside. She continued to follow her superior and as she rounded the corner at the end of the narrow room, it all came to light - another entrance! "Ah!, Agent Burke, the boys must have exited through this door!"

"Yes Angela, and I'm guessing you haven't been in this room before and weren't aware it had an alternate entrance?" Peter smiled at the young agent, hoping to ease some of the guilt and nerves she was exhibiting at having lost his two boys. Not that he wasn't worried himself. While the problem may have seemed small to an outsider, Peter knew the implications of losing two young children like Neal and Mozzie in a building with more than a couple of dozen rooms on each of its 40 storeys. The boys could be lost for days – if they wanted to be! Still, it hadn't been Angela's fault and he wanted to make that clear to her before pursing his missing persons investigation.

"No Agent Burke, you are correct. I haven't been in here before and the ladies room has only one entrance."

"Yeah, I actually knew that. Not that I've been in the ladies room but I have to be aware of the semantics of the building as part of my senior administrative role. Now," Peter pushed the door opened revealing a long corridor with a selection of closed doors pitted in each direction, "Here's hoping the boys have made their way into one of these rooms."

"But these rooms are locked and require a key, Agent Burke. The little tykes wouldn't have been able to access these rooms." Angle tried a few of the non-descript doors labelled only with four digit numbers and found them all to be secured.

Peter grinned, not without a hit of pride, "You'd think so wouldn't you." He retrieved his keyring from his pants pocket and selected a master key from amongst the selection. Opening the very first door, opposite the men's room, he stepped inside and was not only immediately rewarded but also immediately horrified. For in the middle of the room, not only were his missing moppets, but dozens upon dozens of red file folders pulled from the shelves and piled up throughout the room. Peter stood eyes wide, mouth agape, totally speechless, the only sound he seemed to be able to make – "Arrrrrrrrrgh!" If he'd been able to, he may have said something more severe, but in addition to being momentarily lost for words, there were women and children present and he was too much of a gentlemen to curse in front of them.

"Oh my!" Angel gasped and placed her hands over her mouth to stop any undesirable words escaping her own lips.

Neal and Mozzie spun at the sound of the voices. "Dadda! Yoo fwound us!" The little guy ran and gave his dad a cuddle.

"See squirt, told you if we waited here Peter would come and get us." Mozzie sauntered over to the older man. "But you sure took your time."

Peter was all confused. "Mozzie what on earth is going on?"

"Well, we followed your rules. We went into the bathroom and when we came out, Agent Goldberg was gone, so we didn't want you being mad with us so we stayed in one spot, just like you told us but there was no room to really wait in the corridor so we came in here to wait."

It did have a certain logic to it. He recalled instructing the boys to stay in one place if they ever 'got lost'. Which had been quite ridiculous at the time instructing two street wise youngsters who'd spent many a day and night wandering the street by themselves, what to do if they got lost in a department store or the likes. Still, as a responsible parent, it was the standard spiel. "Mmm…I see…and while you were in here you thought you'd …." Peter waved his arm in the direction of the 'disaster' lost for words, "destroy" the place."

Mozzie chuckled, "Oh no, we weren't making a mess, we were cleaning it up while we were waiting for you. Someone had mistakenly put all these folders in the wrong order. The numbers were all over the place. Neal and I are fixing it all up for you." The young boy looked up proudly through his spectacles, expecting the gratitude that was rightfully due.

Peter refrained from rolling his eyes. The file folders had been in the correct order, alphabetical order for case names – not numerical for case numbers. _Unreal!_ He stood for a moment, his mouth open but no idea what words he wanted to form.

"Ah… my old friend, I can see you are speechless, rightfully understandable because I know you must find it so hard to believe that we could make all this fantastic progress in such a short time."

_Well that's not what I was thinking but anyway_, "I'm, uh, glad you remembered what I told you to stay in one place boys, and uh, as for the files…."

"Were mlmost dun dadda." The littlest moppet smiled up at his daddy, also waiting for a thank you.

Peter looked back at the young agent over his shoulder before reluctantly acknowledging the well-intended efforts, despite the inappropriateness of said intentions. "Good work boys. You've both done a fine job and I'm sure everyone here at the White Collar division is very impressed with your efforts."

Neal and Mozzie smiled proudly at each. It had been a fine effort!

"Now, Daddy has to get back to his meeting. I want you two to stay with Agent Goldberg in Daddy's office till I'm finished okay?"

"No problemo, sir."

"Yeah, Dadda."

"Great." Peter let his sons go ahead before whispering in Angela's ear, "Don't let them leave that office no matter what. Tie them down if you have to, handcuff them to my desk, I don't care what you do just please, keep them there."

"Yes sir." Agent Goldberg understood quite clearly and she was going to stick to it if it was the last thing she did. Unfortunately, famous last words and all of that – Agent Goldberg may have been better off if she didn't follow those directions after all!


	5. Chapter 5

"Adent oldbug, cam I pwease hab nudder dwink of wa'er?"

Anglea looked up from the computer at the little boys sitting on the floor drawing. Agent Burke had been back in his meeting for not more than fifteen minutes and it wouldn't even be close to drawing to an end anytime soon. She'd be happy to relinquish the little tykes back into his care, not that they'd been any trouble, with the exception of the 'bathroom incident' of course! "Sure Neal. Would you like a drink as well Mozzie?"

"Yes please Agent Goldberg. Can I also have a donut?"

Angela laughed as she picked up the intercom, "That's a negative on the donut young man but I'll check if the break room has any cookies on offer."

Mozzie smiled up at the young woman, understanding that a little in the way of good manners and charm went a long way in providing him with endless treats from unsuspecting grown-ups. He listened as the young agent placed the order.

"Hi, Brian. It's Angela up in Agent Burke's office." She waved to the person on the other end of the line sitting down in the bullpen. "Would you be kind enough to bring up two glasses of water for our young guests and if you happen to see any cookies in your travels, I'm sure they'd be appreciated. Thanks Brian." The agent hung up the phone and winked at the boys, "You're order should be here in a minute."

"Tanks Adent oldbug."

"Thank you Agent Goldberg."

"No problem boys." Angela's attention was drawn back to typing up a report on the computer.

"Moz?"

"Yeah?"

"Satch? Oo said you go ged him when adent oldbug wen ta ged me my wa'er."

"Well, that plan didn't work did it?"

"Wha now?"

"How about you come up with something, genius?"

"Oo were da one who weft him in da fiwl woom."

"Like I had a choice. How was I to know Peter would join us? Besides, I thought it was rather brilliant thinking on my part that got us out of that little spot of difficulty. We would have been in a world of trouble if you had blurted out we were building a cubby house with those folders!"

"Da cubby howse was or idea, Moz!"

"Which is why I took the lead of responsibility to get us out of the mess once Peter found us. Now, what's our next course of action to …" Mozzie paused as the door opened and Brian entered with drinks and cookies.

"Tank oo."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." The young man turned to Agent Goldberg who was engrossed at the computer, typing up her report in ernest after several interruptions for the morning. "Anything else, Angela?"

"No, thanks anyway Brian."

"Sure, give me a call if there is."

Five minutes later, Angela looked up just in time to see the older boy moving stealthily towards the door. "Where are you going?" Angela had her hand wrapped around the young boy's arm before he made it even half way.

"I'm uh, I'm just going to the bathroom?"

"Nuh, uh young man. Firstly, you've just been and secondly, your dad gave very strict instructions that you were to stay put till he finished his meeting. Now he shouldn't be too much longer." Angela gave a gentle reassuring smile even though she knew very well Peter wouldn't be collecting the kids anytime soon.

Mozzie stared through the glass pane down into the bullpen below. _Oh Crap!_ He watched in horror as his little pup wondered unnoticed between the shelving and the desks. Spinning back with great concern plastered all over his face, he passed on a signal to his young partner in crime.

"Adent oldbug, I fink I gonna be tick."

Angela released Mozzie's arm and spun to face the younger child. "You feel like throwing up?" Neal nodded and Mozzie took another step closer to the door. He put his hand on the knob only to feel a firm hand grasp the back of his shirt. "Hold up a sec tiger! No one is leaving this room."

"But I'm busting!" Mozzie jumped up and down on the spot, making out like he couldn't hold it for a second longer. He really was desperate – just not for the bathroom!

"I don fewl so good." The younger child bent forward holding his tummy.

Angela breathed deeply and took stock of the situation, which was rapidly spiralling out of control. She'd spent four years at QANTICO, for sure she could handle two little tykes. "Okay, listen up boys." Yep, she had her confidence back and was once again in full agent mode. "Mozzie, sit back at the table. If you are really desperate to use the bathroom, I'll call Brian and he can escort you there and back."

_No way that was going to work._ "Actually Agent Goldberg, I don't think I need to go anymore."

Angela nodded, _what a surprise_. "Now Neal. If you are going to be sick, you can throw up into this bin." She grabbed Peter's waste paper bin from under his desk and placed it on the ground in front of the youngster.

"Tank oo Adent oldbug. I tarting to fewl be'er."

"Sure Neal. But I'll leave it right here beside you just in case." Angela winked at the younger child as he took a seat back at the table beside Mozzie. Disaster averted, the agent sat back at her computer and began part 36 of her one page report!

"Wha we gonna do now Moz?" the youngest moppet whispered to his brother.

"I don't know kiddo, I'll have to work out another plan."

"Be'er do it qwickwy Moz. Sometink bad is bout ta happen." Neal had also caught site of the wayward pup exploring downstairs.

"Yeah, no kidding! I can see that with my own two eyes squirt." Unfortunately for the delinquent moppet, Agent Goldberg had put a formidable blockade in front of any rescue attempt. Mozzie's brain raced through various rescue scenarios but his mind was having difficulties getting past Neal's words of warning from earlier, _'When Dadda fwinds out, therw be lots of harwm to your butt!'_

While those unpleasant thoughts were swirling in his head, Mozzie felt a firm tug and was snapped back to the present only to be aware that his younger brother's face had turned several shades whiter. Neal, standing up slowly and gaping in alarm at something outside the window, forced Mozzie to do the same. As the older boy stood up and followed Neal's line of vision, the source of the younger boy's anxiety came into view, carrying what looked like a very official form in his mouth and leaving a paper trail across the corridor in front of their dad's office. Somehow the pup had made it up the stairs and was now heading in the direction of Peter's meeting!


	6. Chapter 6

"Now, if you'd all like to turn to the final section of the Matherson Fraud Report I'll direct you to the table of falsified documents confiscated during the 2009-2010 financial year."

Peter turned to the electronic whiteboard and used his laser pointer to indicate the table on the screen. But before he had a chance to continue, the image flickered and distorted before disappearing completely. Peter heard a couple of the senior agents sitting around the table chuckle and snigger at the technical glitch. 'How rude,' Peter muttered under his breath, knowing he was safe to make the statement while his back was to the group. He pressed several buttons on his laptop, attempting to get the image to reappear and once again, a round of impolite laughter could be heard from the professional group of peers who certainly should have known better. Peter wished he hadn't sent Jones on an errand to refill the coffee pot – the junior agent was far more technically minded than he could ever hope to be. Peter's cheeks began to heat up as he worked frantically to bring back the presentation image onto the electronic white board. While he continued to press every button on every gadget wired up to the white board, he couldn't ignore the growing rabble behind him that had begun as mere giggles but was rapidly escalating into full-blown hysteria. What was it with these people? Were there lives so excruciatingly boring they found this simple computer glitch the funniest thing they'd ever seen. Peter had never been so embarrassed in his whole life. He'd hoped to make a wonderful new impression on his senior colleagues and here they were, laughing him out of the room. Where had it all gone wrong? He'd been ever so prepared for this meeting and it all came crashing down in a matter of minutes, not due to his incompetence but because of his misguided reliance on technology. And while Peter was certain it had happened to everyone in the room at some point in time, he guessed not everyone had the misfortune of having it happen in front of their esteemed peers. Taking a deep breath, Peter put on his best face and turned to face the ridiculously immature group of federal agents.

Now there are moments in life when you just want to crawl under a bed and never ever come out - this wasn't one of those moments for Agent Burke. This was one of those moments when you want to scream at the top of your lungs for all its worth and wring the neck of any poor individual silly enough to walk within reach while you're in the middle of your meltdown! Sadly for Agent Burke, under the circumstances he was unable to play out either of those suggestions even though every fiber of his being wanted him to go with the 'screaming scenario.'

Schooling his features and holding his chin high, Peter ignored the chuckles, stepped around to the opposite end of the table and scooped his brightly decorated puppy off the floor. He retrieved the mostly unrecognizable SP04 form from Satchmo's mouth and immediately the puppy began to lick his owner's face. More laughing ensued as Peter removed the FBI Visitor badge that some smart alec had wrapped around Satch's collar.

One of the agents sitting up the back couldn't help himself, "We all know how hard the budget cuts have affected each and every division Agent Burke, but if we'd known you were having to resort to hiring staff that were happy to be paid in pet food, we'd have happily chipped in." His comment elicited another massive round of laughter.

"At the same time, Agent Burke," this time a comment came from a middle aged woman from the Washington branch, "If you are going to employ personnel of the four legged variety, I'm pleased to see you've chosen to recruit someone with a sense of style and a desire to look their best for the occasion; although personally, I don't consider hot pink dressy enough for the FBI."

Peter looked around the room. Some of the agents were laughing so hard they were holding their chests and bending forward, while others had tears spilling down their faces. Pressing his lips together, he saw no humor in the situation and excused himself from the room. He passed a shocked Jones, carrying a full pot of coffee at the top of the stairs. Clinton took one look at Peter's face and the puppy he was nursing under his arm and knew better than to make any comment, certainly if he intending on keeping his job!

Peter continued on past the junior agent and observed two tiny sets of wide eyes trailing his movements through the glass walls of his office. He swung opened the door and stood glaring at his two miscreants, willing them to say something. But it seemed Jones wasn't the only one smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Mozzie and Neal stood silently before their father, waiting for the inevitable eruption. Even Agent Goldberg who stood stock still behind Peter's desk, totally flabbergasted by this latest development, wasn't silly enough to bring attention to herself. After what seemed like an eternity, Peter stepped over and passed Satchmo into Mozzie's awaiting arms. The older man looked for a moment like he was going to say something but suddenly turned on his heels and exited the room. It's three remaining occupants released their breaths in synchronization and visibly relaxed.

Angela was the first to find her voice, "Your dad didn't appear happy boys." _Understatement of the century!_ "Where did the puppy come from?" The young agent was all confused.

"Fwom da meeting woom."

"Before that Neal. Is he yours?"

"Yeah Agent Goldberg, he's ours. His name is Satchmo. I brought him from home."

"This morning? Well…where's he been all this time?" There were so many pieces of this puzzle that Angela was unable to get her head around.

"Oh, here and there." Mozzie tried to sound nonchalant but the agent didn't buy it for a second.

"Well not here!" Angela waved her arm around to indicate the room. "This is the first time I've laid eyes on him." For sure she would have noticed a puppy roaming the halls, and a ridiculously decorative one at that! She had to ask, "Did something happen to him?"

"Like?" Mozzie pretended to have no idea what she was talking about.

"Like maybe he knocked over a discarded colored ink cartridge or maybe you boys left your colouring pens on the ground and he brushed up against them or maybe he fell into a bucket of wet paint?"

"I di it adent oldbug." Neal was quite embarrassed at having to admit to his crime.

"Oh, I see….Why?

Neal shrugged, "Fowr fun?"

"Mmm..and your dad didn't mind?"

"Ha, he minded alright. Peter turned Neal over his knees and swatted his butt soundly to show him just how much he minded."

"Mozzzzzz!" Neal was rather annoyed that his older brother should bring up that very unpleasant memory.

Angela changed the direction of the conversation before she had a sibling fist fight on her hands. "So, let me get this straight, the puppy has been here all morning?"

"Correct."

"And you brought him in when you arrived with your dad this morning?"

"Correct again."

"But I'm thinking, partly from your dad's reaction a moment ago and partly from the fact that it'd be highly unlikely to pick this very important occasion of your father's first senior agent division presentation to include 'bringing your family pet to work day', that he had no idea your Satchmo was here?"

"Correct – three for three." Mozzie was feeling cocky enough to enjoy the game.

Angela walked over and patted the object of all the fuss. Satchmo licked her hand, obviously enjoying all the attention. "Can I ask something I have no earthly idea the answer to?"

"Of course."

"How did you get your puppy into the office without your dad knowing about him?" After all, Peter was a seasoned FBI agent, it was almost going to be deflating to find out the answer to this one.

"Not that difficult really. Peter was way too stressed out in the car on the way in here to notice anything other than the New York morning traffic. And when we got here, that part was easy. I had borrowed one of the towels from home and wrapped it around Satchmo's body – he likes it when I do that and he usually curls up and nods off to sleep, which is what he did. He had his little head poking out of the towel and while we were waiting for the elevators, some unpleasant lady almost gave the game away when she mentioned out loud that Satch looked comical. Most of the other people waiting just smiled and were too busy thinking about themselves to say anything."

"What about your dad, didn't he see you carrying the pup?"

"He hab a normous box." Neal stretched his arms out as far as they could go.

"And he couldn't see properly over the top of it." Mozzie stroked Satchmo's head. "I was able to block his view with my backpack or Neal would distract him for me. So you see, it was fairly simple to get Satch in here without being noticed." The older boy was ever so proud of his scheming.

The young agent shook her head, slightly disturbed that two little innocents were anything but. "So back to the questions I already know the answers to…You deliberately went out of your way to deceive your father when you brought your puppy into the office this morning?"

"Uh, well, no he told us to bring something to entertain ourselves."

"But you kept it from him so you knew it was wrong, and you knew he would say no if you asked him."

Mozzie conceded with a defeated sigh, "Correct."

"Your puppy interrupted your father's meeting, which as we all saw, he was most unhappy about. Plus I'm guessing that little trip off the reservation earlier when you got lost after I took you to the bathroom had something to do with puppy."

Mozzie shook his head but replied in the affirmative, "Correct again."

"Now you've already admitted that your dad doesn't have an issue with spanking. Some parents don't believe in smacking their children but it sounds like your parents don't fall into that category." Mozzie had no comment on that subject so Angela continued. "Here's my final question, and then I'll get back to my report – part 43! Taking into account everything you've done today, I don't think your father will laugh it off and say anything like, 'Oh forget about it, these things happen.' I'm thinking it's a more likely scenario that he's going to make his displeasure know on your backsides. Am I correct?" Agent Goldberg watched as the color drained out of their faces, yet again. Perhaps she was being a little harsh but the boys had taken advantage of her all morning, and well, if you were going to play with fire, you had to know you could be burnt! When Mozzie didn't respond she answered for him, "Correct? Three for three, Mozzie?"

Mozzie was way too miffed to answer but his little brother wasn't. "C'wect agent oldbug. Fwee fowr fwee."


	7. Chapter 7

Peter wrapped up the end of his presentation feeling both heartfelt relief that it was all over as well as overwhelming gratitude that the forces working against him on this impossibly trying day had finally given him a small break and allowed him to complete his task with at least some of his remaining dignity intact. In fact, the rest of the morning hadn't been too bad. After the agents had eventually settled down from their impromptu bouts of hysteria, everything else had fallen into place and run rather smoothly. Everyone appeared to move on from the disastrous arrival of the sideshow and Peter, with Jones' assistance, had even been able to get the electronic whiteboard up and running once more.

With the visiting agents filing out of the conference room, Peter began packing up his belongings but soon realised that one agent was hanging back - Agent Kent, the most senior of all the guests. Peter swallowed hard and braced himself for what he expected would be a severe dressing down for the unprofessional chaos that had gone down on his watch during the presentation. He waited expectantly for the inevitable reprimand but the older man sat quietly. Eventually, the silence in the room got the better of Peter forcing his hand into reluctantly asking, "Was there something else I could help you with sir?"

"No Burke, I was just pondering." He picked his briefcase up and placed it on the table.

"About the presentation today? Anything you'd like me to clarify sir?"

Kent chuckled, "No, it was all very clear, in fact you did a fine job son."

"Thank you sir." The positive feedback had not been expected.

The older man stood up balancing himself with the back of the seat. He smiled at Peter, "These old legs aren't what they used to be."

Peter smiled back, "Ah sir, if you don't mind me asking…what were you 'pondering' before?"

"The little antics here this morning."

Peter blushed. He'd hoped that Kent's reply would have nothing to do with that - he should have known better.

"I could see you had your hands full with some type of 'family issue'."

Peter nodded.

"The secretary pup was a nice touch by the way." Kent's comment came across as the light-hearted remark it was intended to be. "But honestly, take it from someone whose had a lifetime of experience young man; a little bit of levity goes a long way in making an otherwise serious and taxing profession far more bearable on the human spirit."

Peter listened intently, entranced by this older man's words of wisdom.

"Anyhow…you asked me what I was thinking about before. Well… I was thinking how I'd love to be in your shoes again, if only for a day, to be just starting out, to have my time all over again. Those early days, after I'd just been appointed to a senior role in the division, when I had young children at home and pets of all description roaming the house, never of course as colourful as yours, well those days, they were the most wonderful days of my life. And I'm sitting here today watching you, and feeling just slightly envious you have all of that ahead of you." Kent held out his hand, "Thank you for today son."

Peter shook the older man's hand and replied appreciatively, "Thank you sir, I hope you can make it next time." He watched the seasoned agent traipse out the door and out of sight then slunk down into the closest chair to gather his thoughts. It had been quite a morning!

-W-C-

Mozzie kept watch on the conference room door from his spot in the corner of Peter's office. Not much had been said since his father headed back to the meeting and Agent Goldberg lectured him on his behaviour. He tried not to think about her words, knowing well enough that she'd been correct. There was no doubt is his mind that Peter would indeed take his displeasure out on his backside. The only question remained, would father wait till they got home or would he be so upset that he'd turn him over his knee, right here in the office. Mozzie cringed at the thought that either way, sometime soon he'd have a very sore behind. He watched the last of the agents trickle out from the meeting and eventually, the moment arrived that he'd been dreading, Peter walked out carrying his briefcase, heading for his office. All over rover! Mozzie followed Peter's movements unhappily as he approached. The young boy sat very still thinking there was a small chance he might not be noticed.

"Mozzie!" It had been a long shot.

"Yes sir?"

"Get Satchmo, we're heading home." Mozzie breathed a sigh of relief. The older man's displeasure was at least being postponed till they were out of the office.

"Neal, get Sunny. I do not want to be driving back in here at midnight because you've left your cuddly companion behind yet again."

Neal retrieved Sunny from his perch beside the window and awaited further orders.

"Good. Both of you grab your backpacks and thank Agent Goldberg for looking after you this morning."

"Thank you Agent Goldberg. Hope the second half of your day is better than your first."

"Good-bye Mozzie. It has most certainly been one of my more interesting days since taking on this position. I hope you had an enjoyable day."

"Some. Days not over yet." Mozzie dropped his head and dragged his feet to the door.

"Bye Bye adent oldbug."

"It's Agent Gold-berg, Neal, Gol-d-ber-g." Peter pronounced each syllable for the young child.

Neal pulled his hat down over his face, stubbornly ignoring the fact that Peter was pressing him to say the agents name correctly.

"Neal…" Peter warned and just when it looked like he was going to dig his heals in, the youngster lifted his face and had another attempt.

"Bye bye adnet g…adent Gedbewg." Near enough Peter thought.

"Bye bye Neal. See you next time you're in this neck of the woods."

Peter ushered the two boys out the door before turning back to address the young woman. "Thank you Angela. I know it was a big ask and I really do appreciate your assistance today. The very next time you need a favour, regardless of how ludicrous it may seem, please do not hesitate to ask. I'll be more than happy to oblige."

With that, Peter led his entourage back down to the lift – Mozzie, Satch, Neal and Sunny. How had he not noticed the dog on the way up? Mozzie pressed the button to call the lift.

"Hey, oo pwessed it laws time, Moz."

"I did not, Peter did."

"Dadda it wad my tuwrn."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You can press it inside Neal."

"Wit one dadda?"

"B2 – basement carpark 2."

But unfortunately for Peter, once they got inside, the lift was already occupied with a young staffer also heading for the car park.

Neal looked at the lit B2 button and glared at his brother. The older boy looked unperturbed so Neal, in frustration slammed his hand against the buttons, lighting up half a dozen floors. Peter palmed his head and was about to take control when Mozzie slammed his hand against several more buttons, poking his tongue out at Neal at the same time. It all happened quickly, too quickly for Peter to react. But before Neal could hit the remainder of the unlit buttons, Peter grabbed the little boy's wrist and dragged him away from the source of the temptation.

At the very next floor, the young female staffer excused herself while stepping out, citing that she'd forgotten something at her desk. Unlikely story, but under the circumstances, Peter accepted that he would have made exactly the same move. The journey down to the car park was excruciatingly painful. However when they finally stepped out at the basement, Peter sported a small smile of satisfaction, while both boys had one hand cradling their precious loads and one hand cradling their smarting backsides. Their dad's fuse had finally run out!

-W-C-

It was a weary and mentally drained father that unlocked the front door a short time later. The traffic had been particularly merciful and they'd made good time on their journey home, much to Mozzie's displeasure.

As Peter stepped through the front door, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He clicked his fingers and indicated for the two little moppets to wait close as he answered the call. "Hi Jones...Sorry I can't hear you….What's all that shouting in the background?...Hughes is back? He was supposed to be interstate till next week…Anyway, why's he shouting?...HE FOUND WHAT!...He actually stepped in it?...Mmmm, "Peter glared at his two little delinquints. "It was under his desk?...Yeah…Good advice Jones….Thanks for the heads up…Catch you tomorrow." Peter clicked his phone shut and returned it to his jacked pocket.

Mozzie, who had no trouble following or understanding the disjointed phone conversation, began to open his mouth to pre-empt the eruption about to take place in the middle of the Burke family living room but Peter held up his finger and growled out, "Not a word young man…not a word."


	8. Chapter 8

Elizabeth Burke slid her house key into the lock of her Brooklyn townhouse and opened the outer front door. She smiled to herself while thinking how good it was to be home. She had missed her young family this morning and wondered what they had all been up to while she was working hard at securing a very important client – something she was fairly confident had been achieved. Stepping inside the inner door the first thing she noticed was the absence of noise. With two boys now living in the house, the only time there was peace and quiet was long after they'd been sent to bed and the delta sleep cycle for both children had kicked in. Naturally, El had been expecting a couple of welcome home hugs, but sadly, none were forthcoming. Perhaps the boys had been sent out to the backyard to play with Satchmo? El could hear Peter in the kitchen, tinkering with the dishes and she could tell from the heavenly aroma of slow roasted smoky barbeque chicken waffling through the living room that she wouldn't be required to cook tonight. El stepped in the living room feeling overjoyed at not having to worry about feeding the hungry hordes – deciding what to cook was a chore in itself. Unfortunately, the joy was short lived, as her eyes settled on two little boys, sitting on dining chairs set up, once again, in the naughty chair position. She looked over at Mozzie and shook her head in disappointment, even though the older boy couldn't see her. He was facing the wall and appeared to be meditating. Mozzie may not have been watching, but Neal certainly was. He watched El's movements through the back of the chair and hid behind his hat once he realized his mom was glaring him. El continued on through to the kitchen to get the lowdown on what her naughty little moppets had done this time.

Peter was so happy to see his wife. Upon seeing her step through the kitchen door, he pulled her straight in to a hug and kissed her on the lips. "How did it all go, hon? You work your magic and secure the client?"

"Yes, I'm almost certain the Performing Arts of Brooklyn Centre will be Burke Premier Events newest client."

"That's fantastic El." Peter kissed his wife once more, proud of the fact that she was making a great success of her new business undertaking.

"So…" Elizabeth gave her husband a sympathetic grin. "Did our sons give you a hard time today or are you just enjoying a bit of coerced silent calm?"

"Can it be both?" Peter leaned down and rested his head on his wife's shoulder.

"Bad day?"

"Oh you have no idea."

"Yeah, actually I do." El laughed. "Nothing you could tell me would surprise me. I know exactly what our pair of mischievous rascals are capable of."

Peter laughed, "You'd think so wouldn't you."

El stepped over and poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot that appeared freshly boiled. She took a long sip and braced herself as she asked the inevitable, "What happened hon?"

Peter ran tired hands across his face. "Oh well, where do I start?"

"Did something happen here at home or did you need to pop out with the boys."

"Out." Peter considered, "Truth be told, the wheels fell off the wagon the minute I climbed into the driver's seat." He lifted the coffee cup out of El's hand and polished off her drink.

"Hey!" El scolded without any seriousness and poured herself a second cup. "I thought you'd take the easy road and have a morning at home."

"Yeah, afraid it wasn't that simple….I took the boys to visit the bureau."

"Really?" El raised her eyebrows.

"Really." Peter sounded exhausted as he leaned heavily against the kitchen bench.

El moved to stand beside her husband and rested her head against his shoulder. "Start at the beginning honey. Tell me what happened."

Peter took a deep breath and preceded to fill El in on the string of events that led to him being so mentally drained, he was unable to face dealing with the boys and their inappropriate behavior. Peter started with the fact that none of it would have happened had he paid even the slightest attention to El when she told him last week he'd need to take this morning off work to watch over the boys. He was wound-up enough to think perhaps he only had himself to blame.

M-O-P-P-E-T-S

Neal kept watch on the kitchen door expecting Peter to come out any minute to smack his bottom for being a naughty boy.

He rubbed his butt subconsciously, preempting how it would soon feel. It wasn't fair. Taking Satchmo to Daddy's work had been Mozzie's idea. It wasn't fair that he should be 'panked' too. Besides, he'd already been 'panked' for painting Satchmo. Now it was Mozzie's turn. Mozzie had wanted to sneak Satchmo into the FBI office so he could play with him while Daddy was in the meeting. Maybe he was worried for nothing. Neal swallowed hard and brushed at the edges of his eyes where tears were beginning to gather. He knew better. His daddy was very clear that Neal was old enough to make his own choices and Mozzie had not forced him to play along. More tears escaped his eyes and ran down his face. He was quite sure he'd be turned over his daddy's knees all too soon.

The youngster was surprised however when Elizabeth came out of the kitchen and called over her shoulder on the way to the stairs, "Mozzie, Neal, come with me please."

The little moppets gave each other curious shrugs and followed their mom up the stairs and into her bedroom. El sat down on the bed and pulled the boys in close, holding onto their wrists as she spoke. "I've been talking to your dad boys and I'm ever so disappointed."

The tears from Neal's eyes began to flow freely with that one simple declaration.

"Can you tell me why Mommy is disappointed?"

Neal nodded, "Cawse Moz an I wewr nawty."

"Yes you were Neal." In fact El had been shocked when Peter informed her of what her two little angels had gotten up to, despite her assuring him that there was nothing they could do to surprise her anymore. "And what did you do that was naughty, Mozzie?"

"I took Satchmo into Peter's office." Unlike his younger brother, Mozzie didn't appear to be too remorseful for his actions.

"And you asked your father first?"

"No." The older boy looked everywhere except at his mom.

"So why didn't he stop you when he saw you bringing puppy in the car?"

Mozzie shrugged.

"That's not an answer young man."

"Maybe I uh, hid Satch from him."

"I see…and what about getting out of the car and getting up to the office?"

"Same again."

"Same again what?"

"I tricked Peter." Mozzie whispered, finally beginning to realize he was in deep trouble.

"And what about you young man?" El directed the question at Neal. "Did you help?"

"Yesss Mommy." The little boy rubbed at his eyes.

El sighed deeply and released the boys' hands. "Mozzie, what you did today, tricking Peter, hiding Satchmo, misleading Agent Goldberg and almost ruining Daddy's very important presentation, was very deceitful and I am very unhappy with your behavior. Your father and I expect more of you and I don't want a repeat performance of this day ever again. Am I clear Mozzie?"

The young boy adjusted his glasses to hide his shame, "Yes ma'am."

"Okay then." El took a deep breath. She hated this part but owed it to Peter regardless. This whole parenting thing could be so wearing at times. On occasions like this, it was just what the doctor ordered to be able to pass on the next shift to the parent who hadn't spent the day facing the testing challenges their children presented continually throughout the day. "Neal, I want you to go and wait for me in your room please." The littlest moppet practically ran out of the room, more than happy to comply. "And Mozzie, I want you to get my hairbrush off the dresser, please."

"Y-your h-hairbrush?" Mozzie's eyebrows lifted high into his hairline. "Why?"

"You know why, Mozzie. What did I tell you the last time you conned Peter and I?"

"I…I don't remember?" The boy was grasping at straws.

"So now I can add lying to the list because young man, you don't ever forget anything."

"Hold on." Mozzie held up his hand panicking. He didn't need any additional transgressions added to his already extensive list. "I remember Elizabeth….I just wasn't thinking clearly."

"Well, what did I tell you?"

The boy reluctantly admitted, "You said the next time I tried to con you or execute a scam you would take your hairbrush to my behind."

Satisfied, El nodded her head in the direction of the dresser.

"Eeeeeeliiiizzzabeth," Mozzie whined.

"Now Mozzie." El's tone meant the discussion was over.

"Yes ma'am." The boy dragged his feet across to the dresser and retrieved the brush. He couldn't believe the turn of events. When he realized it would be Elizabeth taking him in hand for his behavior he was quite relieved. Elizabeth's spankings, while far from being simple love taps, were not the same degree of sting that Peter's large hand delivered. He walked back ever so slowly and handed the offending implement to his mom. "Elizabeth I'm going to be on my best behavior from now on. This really isn't necessary."

"I'm afraid it is Mozzie." El reached out and pulled the boy across her lap, tugging down his shorts and underwear in the process.

"Elizabeth, can't we make a deal!" Mozzie was beyond desperate.

"Nope. Negotiations are over." El lifted her arm and brought down the brush with a sound whack. It wasn't necessary to swing particularly hard, the mere thought of it being used on his backside was enough to make Mozzie wince in apprehension of subsequent smacks.

"Yeowww! Negotiations? What negotiations?"

Whack!

"Owwww! Elizabeth. If I thought we were negotiating I would have tried a different tact!"

Whack!

"Nooooooo! Please, I'm sure we can work something out!"

Whack!

"Eeeeeeelizabeth! Stoooooop!" Mozzie tried to shift his butt out of the firing line but El held him firmly in place.

Whack!

"Owwwwww! I'm sorrrrrry!"

Whack!

Mozzie gave up and lay defeated over his mother's lap. He began to sob and cried out between the tears, "I-I'm s-sorry, E-Elizabeth. I-I'm s-sorry."

El put the brush down on the bed and patted the boy gently on his back. After giving him a few moments to settle, she reached down and pulled his pants back into place before gently guiding him up off her lap to once again stand before her.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." The young boy lifted his glasses and wiped his face on his shirt sleeve.

"I know sweetie. I know you didn't mean to cause all that trouble today. But you have to be more thoughtful than you were."

"I will be." Mozzie looked down at the carpet, uncomfortable with looking El in the eye.

Elizabeth lifted his chin so they could make eye contact. "Now, for the next week young man, you are going to be unpacking and packing the dishwasher, setting the table and clearing the dinner dishes."

Mozzie nodded, even though he wondered what chores that would leave for Neal, he didn't voice his concern.

"You will also be entirely responsible for Satchmo. You will need to make sure he has water at all times, feed him each morning and night, bath him when he needs it and…" Mozzie wasn't sure but he was almost certain he saw a twinkle in Elizabeth's eye as she delivered the rest of the sentence…"your responsibilities will also include picking up the dog poo in the yard."

"Nnnnnnnnno Way!" Elizabeth was well aware the smell of the dog poo almost made him barf every time he got near it!

"Yes way young man." El replied casually as she made her way to the bedroom door.

"Can't you just…" Mozzie called out after her, "I don't know, can't you just whack me a couple more times with the brush and we'll call it even!"

El rolled her eyes and turned to her eldest, "If that's what you'd prefer Mozzie?" She made a move to head back towards the bed when the boy held up his hand.

"Ah, no, it's okay. On second thoughts I think it may be good for me to take complete responsibility for Satchmo."

"That's what I thought Mozzie." El chuckled as she headed out of the room to take care of her other mischievous moppet.

M-O-P-P-E-T-S

El found the boy lying under his comforter, wrapped around Sunny. She sat down on the bed, careful to avoid sitting on any little limbs that may be hiding under the covers. "Sunny," she addressed the cuddly friend, "I need to have a chat with Neal now. Do you mind giving us a minute?"

"Yesss I dow. I'm berry comfee."

"Well," El extracted the toy and put it on the bedside table. "I won't be long and then you can climb back under the covers if you want to."

Neal gave his mom sad puppy dog eyes, "Aw oo gonna pank me wit da bwush too?"

"No sweetie."

The little boy gave his mom a grateful smile.

"But I am going to spank you nevertheless."

The smile dropped. "Bu Mommy, I daid I wad sowwy."

"I know little one, and I believe you but you were very naughty today and you know that if you do something naughty like that you are going to get a spanking."

"Bu I dowt wan one." Neal pulled the comforter over his head and hoped no one would find him.

El shook her head and yanked back the covers revealing one sad little moppet with tears spilling from the corners of his eyes. She took a deep breath and pulled the youngster up and over her lap, baring his little butt in one swift movement.

"Nooooooo Mommy. Pwease, nooooooo!"

El brought her hand down and smacked the little boy's behind.

"Ow!" Neal began to howl and yelp and squirm and scream as each spank was delivered – ten in all – leaving the little white butt painted temporarily red.

El readjusted the youngster's pants and lifted him onto her knees. He sniffled and sobbed and blew his nose on his mommy's blouse and before El could stop him, he'd jumped off her lap and went running out of the room calling out, Dadda, Dadda!"

"Oh Neal," El shook her head and smiled. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Dadda! Dadda!" The little boy found his daddy sitting on the couch and leapt into his arms.

"Hey, calm down. What's up kiddo?" Like he didn't know!

"Mommy panked me!' Neal buried his head in the crook of his father's arm and cried out a fresh set of tears.

"Mommy spanked you? What for bud?"

"Forw…" The youngster lifted his eyes and considered if he should continue. "Forw being nawty, Dadda."

Peter gave him a pointed look.

"I sowwy dadda. I sowwy I wad nawty forw oo."

Peter gave his little boy a tight squeeze. "It's all fine now kiddo. Just don't do it again okay?"

"Okay Dadda." Neal adjusted himself on his father's lap and began playing with his tie. "Bu can I come to da office wit oo eber again?"

"Of course Buddy. But next time I'll take you when I don't have an important meeting on."

"Good ibea Dadda. An net time we leab Satch at home."

"Even better idea, kiddo. I know you didn't see too much today, so what do you think you want to have a look at next time I take you."

Neal scratched his hands through his curly dark hair, deep in thought.

"Maybe you want to see how I take fingerprints?"

Neal considered, "Mabeee."

"Or perhaps you'd like me to show you in our surveillance van?"

The little boy turned his nose up at that one.

"Okay then kiddo, you tell me. What do you want to see?"

Neal crossed his arms and made a firm decision. "I wan ta see all da picherws of da pepol on da wall."

"The pictures of people?" Peter frowned, not sure what Neal was talking about.

"He's talking about the Ten Most Wanted Posters; he could see them from your office." Mozzie came down the stairs and snuggled up to his father on the couch. "Sorry about today, Peter. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Peter reached down and squeezed the boy's hand. "It's okay son. Thank you for apologizing."

Mozzie looked up and smiled, happy that it was all behind him – except of course for the issue of the dog poo!

"Now, Neal, what's so good about seeing the 'pictures of the people'?"

"I wike them." The little boy's tone indicated he thought the answer was obvious.

Peter couldn't understand the appeal. But then again, there was lots to young Neal he was yet to figure out. "Why kiddo? What's so great about those pictures?"

The little moppet rolled his eyes. Sometimes his dadda could be so 'wustrwating.' "Tose pepol mut be bery imporwant Dadda. One day I wan my picherw up therw too."

Mozzie laughed and ran off to the kitchen to set the table, muttering something as he went about self-fulfilling prophecies.

Peter just groaned and tapped the little boy's forehead. "Neal my boy, you do not what your photo up there. Trust me."

"Yeah I do Dadda. One day I wiwl. Oo see." And with that determined statement, he gave his Daddy a big sloppy kiss on his cheek and ran off to find Satchmo.

Peter leaned back into the couch and sighed contently. Out of everything that had happened throughout the day, the thing that stood out in his mind the most was his conversation with Agent Kent. The older man had certainly left a lasting impression and Peter wasn't going to ignore what was indeed invaluable advice. He would treasure every moment with his boys, whether good or bad and he'd accept the challenges they laid at his feet to be just as valid and important as the ones he laid at theirs. Peter pushed himself up off the couch with the intention of assisting Mozzie with setting the table but for some reason he found himself heading out the back door to track down his youngest. A delayed alarm had set off in his brain and suddenly he had an urgent need to talk to Neal about that crazy idea he just put forward about wanting his picture on the wall at Bureau. Something that was never ever going to happen! Peter would make sure of that!


End file.
